Resource allocation in machine-to-machine radio access systems

ABSTRACT

A method may include receiving a communication from each of multiple machine-type communication (MTC) devices in a radio access network at a base station. The radio access network and base station may be configured to support the MTC devices and human operated devices. The method may also include determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices and allocating a first set of downlink resources in a downlink channel for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the MTC devices. The method may also include allocating a first set of uplink resources in an uplink channel for future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station.

FIELD

The embodiments discussed herein are related to machine-to-machine type communication.

BACKGROUND

Radio access communication networks such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) networks may be used for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, also known as machine-type communications (MTC). Generally, MTC may allow an un-manned device to wirelessly and remotely report information over the radio access network to a central dedicated server, which may distribute the information to one or more suitable MTC applications and/or an MTC server that collects the information. Devices with MTC compatibility may be used in a variety of situations. An example of such a situation may include smart meters that report resource consumption, measurements, and/or special events to a utility company server via the radio access communication network. Other examples of applications that may utilize MTC include security networks for use in surveillance, alarm or people tracking systems, transportation networks, fleet management, connected cars, city automation, toll collection, emission control, electronic health (eHealth) applications; manufacturing monitoring and automation, and facility management, including homes, buildings, etc.

The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of an embodiment, a method may include receiving a communication from each of multiple machine-type communication (MTC) devices in a radio access network at a base station. The radio access network and base station may be configured to support the MTC devices and human operated devices. The method may also include determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices and allocating a first set of downlink resources in a downlink channel for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the MTC devices. The method may also include allocating a first set of uplink resources in an uplink channel for future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station.

The object and advantages of the embodiments will be realized and achieved at least by the elements, features, and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example radio access network;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of another example radio access network;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example time and frequency radio resource allocation;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a flow chart of an example method of allocating radio resources in a radio access network;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of another example method of allocating radio resources in a radio access network; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an example method of using radio resources in a radio access network.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Some embodiments described herein may relate to a radio access network, such as a mobile communications network, that provides radio access to various devices, including machine type communication (MTC) devices and human-operated devices. In particular, some embodiments described herein may relate to radio access resource allocation to the MTC devices in the radio access network. For example, when multiple MTC devices are part of a cell of a radio access network, the service provided to MTC devices may result in degraded quality of service to the human operated devices in the radio access network. To help to reduce or prevent the degradation of quality of service to human operated devices, radio access resources may be allocated that are dedicated for future assignment of data communications between the MTC devices and base stations in the radio access network. For example, one or more sets of downlink resources in a downlink channel may be allocated for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the MTC devices. Alternately or additionally, one or more sets of uplink resources in an uplink channel may be allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station.

In some embodiments, the radio access network may group the MTC devices based on signal performance of communications between the MTC devices and base stations. In these and other embodiments, the radio access network may allocate separate radio access resources for each group of the MTC devices.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example radio access network 100 (referred to hereinafter as the “network 100”), arranged in accordance with at least one embodiment described herein.

The network 100 may be configured to provide radio access, such as mobile, communication services to human operated wireless devices 110 (referred to hereinafter as “human devices 110”) and MTC wireless devices 120 (referred to hereinafter as “MTC devices 120”) via one or more base stations 102. The radio access network, when supported by a related core network, may provide voice services, data services, messaging services, and/or any suitable combination thereof. The network 100 may include a radio access network architecture like an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (E-UMTS) or an E-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN). These and other embodiments, concerning the network 100 may include a PHY layer employing Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) network or an Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) network or a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network or a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network, and/or any other suitable radio access network. In some embodiments, the network 100 may be configured as a third generation (3G) radio access network and/or a fourth generation (4G) radio access network. In these or other embodiments, the network 100 may be configured as a long term evolution (LTE) wireless communication network, such as a 3GPP Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) radio access network. However, the embodiments described herein are not limited to the example radio access systems described. Rather, the embodiments described herein may also be applicable to other radio access systems.

The base station 102 may be any suitable radio access network communication point and may include, by way of example but not limitation, a base station, an evolved node “B” (eNB) base station, a remote radio head (RRH), or any other suitable communication point. The base station 102 may include hardware and software for radio communication in certain frequency bands, which are usually licensed. For example, the base station 102 may be equipped for communication over an air interface with the human devices 110 and the MTC devices 120. The base station 102 may generally allow the human devices 110 and the MTC devices 120 to wirelessly communicate with a network (not shown) via the air interface.

The base station 102 may include hardware and/or software for radio communication usually over a licensed spectrum. Alternately or additionally, the base station 102 may include hardware and/or software for radio communication over an unlicensed spectrum. The licensed spectrum may generally include portions of a radio spectrum licensed for data transmission. For example, the base station 102 may be configured to process, transmit, and receive radio communications that comply with multiple types of radio access networks, such LTE radio access network including an LTE radio access network according to 3GPP LTE specification releases 8-12.

The category of human devices 110 may include user equipment configured to allow the human devices 110 to transmit and receive radio communications via the licensed or unlicensed spectrum. The human device 110 may include any devices for which the primary operation is to provide network communications based on requests from a human operator of the human device 110. For example, the human devices 110 may include a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personal data assistant (PDA), a laptop computer, a personal computer, a tablet computer, or any other similar device configured to use radio communications based on directions of a human operator.

The MTC devices 120 may include equipment configured to allow the MTC devices 120 to transmit and receive radio communications via the licensed spectrum or unlicensed spectrum. The MTC devices 120 may employ dedicated MTC hardware and/or software configured for communication with an MTC server (not shown). In particular, the MTC device 120 may communicate with the MTC server with little or no human intervention. In some embodiments, the MTC devices 120 may not include a general user interface, but may be configured to operate automatously to perform functions for which they are designed. Examples of such MTC devices 120 may include surveillance and alarm devices, utility measuring and metering devices, manufacturing monitoring and automation devices, facility management devices, and other analogous devices.

The base station 102 may provide access to the network 100 for devices within a coverage area 104. In the illustrated embodiments, the base station 102 may provide access to the network 100 for the human devices 110 and the MTC devices 120 that are in the coverage area 104. In general, the base station 102 may provide access to the network 100 using a downlink channel of frequencies and an uplink channel of frequencies. For example, the downlink channel and the uplink channel may each be 5 megahertz (MHz), 10 MHz, 20 MHz, or even larger bandwidth channels. In these and other embodiments, each of the downlink and uplink channels may be divided into one or more time and frequency allocated resource blocks, referred to herein as resource blocks. Each of the resource blocks may include one or more resource elements When transmitting information to the human devices 110 and/or the MTC devices 120, the base station 102 may allocate a portion of the downlink channel for a downlink communication and may schedule, during a time interval, the downlink communication for the allocated portion of the downlink channel. For example, the base station 102 may allocate one or more resource elements in one or more resource blocks of the downlink channel for the downlink communication. It should be understood that the use of the term “communication” herein may describe communications generally that occur between devices as well as air interface transmissions between devices.

When the human devices 110 and/or the MTC devices 120 transmit information to the base station 102, the base station 102 may allocate a portion of the uplink channel for an uplink communication and may schedule, during a time interval, the uplink communication for the allocated portion of the uplink channel. For example, the base station 102 may allocate one or more resource elements in one or more resource blocks of the uplink channel for the uplink communication.

In some circumstances, some of the MTC devices 120 within the coverage area 104 may be situated in locations such that these MTC devices 120 operate below a particular cell edge signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) levels. This type of operation may be referenced as a coverage deficit operation. A coverage deficit operation may occur when an MTC device 120 is positioned in a location where the signal quality of communications between the MTC device 120 and the base station 102 is below the operational threshold equivalent to the cell edge SNR or SINR. The operational threshold may allow the MTC device 120 and the base station 102 to reliably decode data and control communications in both DL and UL directions. In particular, during coverage deficit operation, one or more symbols within data and control communications between the MTC device 120 and the base station 102 may not be reliably decoded for a given coding scheme because of interference and/or noise that overcomes the symbols of the data and control communications. The threshold for determining a coverage deficit may be based on one or more factors that may vary based on a configuration of the network 100. Such factors may include an encoding scheme employed by the network 100, transmit power of the base station 102, transmit power of the MTC device 120, and a configuration of the network 100, among other factors.

Coverage deficit locations may be found along an edge of the coverage area 104, within nulls of the coverage area 104, or within other locations that shield the MTC devices 120 from the radio communications, such as basements, equipment rooms, and other structures.

To compensate for the coverage deficit of an MTC device 120, repetition-based patterns may be used for the data and control communications between the MTC device 120 and the base station 102. For example, when sending an uplink data communication to the base station 102, the MTC device 120 may send the data communication multiple times to help to ensure that the SNR or SINR for each of the symbols in the data communication is adequate to allow the base station to decode all of the symbols in the data communication. In some embodiments, a communication may be repeated, 2, 4, 6, 10, 15, 20, or more times.

In some circumstances, a number of MTC devices 120 in the coverage area 104 may be much greater than a number of human devices 110. The network 100, however, may include limited radio resources to allow the base station 102 to service the MTC devices 120 and the human devices 110 simultaneously and with the same quality of service (QoS). When the requests for radio resources exceed or come close to available radio resources, quality of service for the MTC devices 120 and/or the human device 110 may be degraded. For example, a human device 110 may request a given bandwidth to stream a video. When the quality of service is reduced, the base station 102 may not allocate adequate bandwidth to the human device 110, resulting in the quality of the video degrading.

In some circumstances, the radio resources requested by the MTC devices 120 may peak based on the occurrence of certain events, resulting in further degradation of the quality of service for human device 110. For example, the MTC devices 120 or a set of the MTC devices 120 may monitor a natural gas line. When gas pressure along a certain service area changes, sets of the MTC devices 120 monitoring the gas pressure may request to send uplink data communications over the network 100 within a specified duration of time. As a result, the radio resources of the network 100 may not be sufficient to handle the requested data communications and the quality of service (particularly the traffic latency) may be degraded. Requested communications and current communications within the network 100 may be referred to herein as network traffic. In these and other embodiments, the quality of service may be further degraded when the MTC devices 120 that are accessing the network 100 are in a coverage deficit location because each communication may be transmitted multiple times by requesting multiple radio resources allocations, thereby further increasing the network traffic but with a much lower spectral efficiency.

In some circumstances, the multiple control communications sent to or received from the MTC devices 120 may reduce the quality of service in the network 100 even when data communications of the MTC devices 120 may not be sufficient to reduce the quality of service of the network 100. For example, when certain radio resources are allocated to handle control communications for all of or a majority of devices in the coverage area 104 of the base station, an increase in control communications from the MTC devices 120 may delay the ability of human devices 110 to send and/or receive control communications thereby reducing the quality of service of the human devices 110.

To help to reduce the quality of services problems that may exist in the network 100 due to the network 100 supporting human devices 110 and MTC devices 120, the base station 102 may allocate a first set of downlink resources in a downlink channel for future assignment of downlink communications from the base station 102 to the MTC devices 120. In some embodiments, the first set of downlink resources may be for future assignment of data downlink communications and/or control downlink communications from the base station 102 to the MTC devices 120. In these and other embodiments, the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel may be allocated for only future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station 102 to the MTC devices 120. Alternately or additionally, the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel may not be allocated for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station 102 to the human devices 110.

The base station 102 may also allocate a first set of uplink resources in an uplink channel for future assignment of uplink communications from the MTC devices 120 to the base station 102. In some embodiments, the first set of uplink resources may be for future assignment of data uplink communications and/or control uplink communications from the MTC devices 120 to the base station 102. In these and other embodiments, the first set of uplink resources in the uplink channel may be allocated for only future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices 120 to the base station 102. Alternately or additionally, the first set of uplink resources in the uplink channel may not be allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications from the human devices 110 to the base station 102.

By allocating separate radio resources for the data and/or control uplink communications of the MTC device 120 and the human devices 110 and/or separate radio resources for the data and/or control downlink communications of the MTC device 120 and the human devices 110, the base station 102 may better avoid delays and other problems discussed herein. As a result, the network may separate radio resources for the human devices 110 and the MTC devices 120 and thereby better maintain the quality of service in the network 100 for the human devices 110 and/or the MTC devices 120.

The allocation of future assignments of uplink communications and future assignments of downlink communications to the respective first sets of uplink and downlink resources is different from in known radio networks. In known radio networks, a base station schedules radio resources for uplink and/or downlink communications by allocating radio resources. This allocation of radio resources, however, is a current assignment of the radio resources for a future scheduled transmission. After the future scheduled transmission, the allocated radio resources may be reused. In contrast, the allocation of the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel for future assignment of downlink data communications is allocating the first set of downlink resources for future assignments to MTC devices 120 that have yet to be determined. Thus, the first set of downlink resources are allocated for unscheduled future transmissions to the MTC devices 120 from the base station 102.

For example, in a known network, a base station may schedule a downlink resource for an MTC device for a future scheduled transmission. After the scheduled transmission, the base station may schedule the downlink resource for a human operated device. In the network 100, when the base station 102 schedules future transmission for an MTC device 120, the base station 102 schedules the future transmission using a downlink resource from the previously allocated set of downlink resources that have been allocated for the MTC device 120. After the scheduled transmission, the downlink resource is still allocated for the MTC devices 120 and may be re-scheduled for MTC devices 120 and not human devices 110.

In some embodiments, the base station 102 may be configured to allocate additional sets of radio resources in either the uplink or the downlink channels based on network traffic in the respective channels associated with the MTC devices 120. For example, when the base station 102 has already allocated a first set of uplink resources for data communications from the MTC devices 120 to the base station 102 and the base station 102 detects an increase in uplink data communications from the MTC devices 120 to the base station 102, the base station 102 may semi-statically or dynamically allocate a second set of uplink resources in the uplink channel for future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices 120 to the base station 102. As a result, future uplink data communications from the MTC devices 120 to the base station 102 may be transmitted using the first and second sets of uplink resources.

Because this second set of uplink resources is allocated semi-statically or dynamically, in response to the base station 102 detecting a decrease in the uplink data communications from the MTC devices 120, the base station 102 may de-allocate the second set of uplink resources and allow the second set of uplink resources to be used by the human devices 110. In some embodiments, the base station 102 may also de-allocate the first set of uplink resources and allow the first set of uplink resources to be used by the human devices 110 when the base station 102 detects that a number of MTC devices 120 in the coverage area 104 falls below a threshold.

In some embodiments, the base station 102 may group the MTC devices 120 based on whether the MTC devices 120 are located in one or more coverage deficit locations. For example, in some embodiments, first, second, third, fourth, and fifth MTC devices 120 a, 120 b, 120 c, 120 d, and 120 e may each be in a coverage deficit location. The coverage deficit location may be determined based on the SNR and/or SINR of downlink communications received at the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth MTC devices 120 a, 120 b, 120 c, 120 d, and 120 e being below the cell edge SNR and/or SINR threshold or other threshold defined in order to provide a certain minimal degree of quality of service. As a result, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth MTC devices 120 a, 120 b, 120 c, 120 d, and 120 e may be grouped into a coverage deficit group of MTC devices 120, which may be referred to herein as the “CD_MTC devices 120”.

The remaining MTC devices including the sixth, seventh, and eighth MTC devices 120 f, 120 g, and 120 h, may each be in a regular coverage location. The regular coverage location may be determined based on the SNR and/or SINR of downlink communications received at the sixth, seventh, and eighth MTC devices 120 f, 120 g, and 120 h being at or above the threshold. As a result, the sixth, seventh, and eighth MTC devices 120 f, 120 g, and 120 h may be grouped into a regular coverage group of MTC devices 120, which may be referred to herein as the “RC_MTC devices 120.”

In these and other embodiments, the base station 102 may allocate separate sets of uplink and/or downlink resources for the CD_MTC devices 120 and the RC_MTC devices 120. By allocating the separate sets of uplink and/or downlink resources for the CD_MTC devices 120 and the RC_MTC devices 120, the base station 102 may alleviate or reduce the quality of service reduction issues that may occur for the RC_MTC devices 120 when the RC_MTC devices 120 and the CD_MTC devices 120 are allocated the same uplink and/or downlink resources. Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the network 100 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of another example radio access network 200 (referred to hereinafter as the “network 200”), arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. The network 200 may include a base station 210. The base station 210 is an example of the base station 102 of FIG. 1. The base station 210 may include a radio frequency transceiver 212, a processor system 214, and a memory system 216. The radio frequency transceiver 212 may be configured to transmit and receive radio transmissions, such as data and control communications. The memory system 216 may include one or more different memory blocks. The different memory blocks may include different types of memory, such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and/or a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Instructions, such as programming code executable by one or more processors of the processor system 214, may be located in the memory system 216. When the instructions are executed by the processor system 214, the base station 210 may perform operations related to and/or including the processes and/or acts described herein.

The network 200 may also include first and second MTC devices 220 a and 220 b (referred to hereinafter as the “MTC device(s) 220”). The MTC devices 220 are examples of the MTC devices 120 of FIG. 1. Each of the MTC devices 220 may include a radio frequency transceiver 222, a processor system 224, and a memory system 226. The radio frequency transceiver 222 may be configured to transmit and receive radio transmissions, such as data and control communications. The memory system 226 may include one or more different memory blocks. The different memory blocks may include different types of memory, such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and/or a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Instructions, such as programming code executable by one or more processors of the processor system 224, may be located in the memory system 226. When the instructions are executed by the processor system 224, the MTC devices 220 may perform operations related to and/or including the processes and/or acts described herein.

The base station 210 may support the MTC devices 220 by providing and coordinating data communications in the network 200. Before providing data communications, the MTC devices 220 may synchronize with the base station 210. Synchronizing with the base station 210 may provide the MTC devices 220 with an indication of a coarse frequency of the base station 210 and signaling timing for communications transmitted from or to the base station 210. The MTC devices 220 being aware of signaling frequency and timing may assist the MTC devices 220 to reliably decode control information from the base station 210 and may assist the base station 210 to reliably interpret communications from the MTC devices 220. To synchronize with the base station 210, the base station 210 may repeatedly or otherwise send a sequence of synchronization signals in a downlink channel over first and second paths 202 a and 202 b to the respective first and second MTC devices 220 a and 220 b. Example synchronization signals in an LTE network may include a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS). The MTC devices 220 may receive the synchronization signals from the base station 210. Using the synchronization signals, the MTC devices 220 may synchronize their communication signaling with the base station 210.

In some embodiments, the synchronization signals may be transmitted by the base station 210 using first radio resources from a shared set of downlink resources in a downlink channel. In these and other embodiments, other downlink control communications from the base station 210 to the MTC devices 220 as well as downlink control communications from the base station 210 to other devices in the network 200, such as human operated devices, may be transmitted using radio resources from the shared set of downlink resources used to transmit the synchronization signals.

After the MTC devices 220 have synchronized with the base station 210, the base station 210 may send the MTC devices 220 control information concerning the network 200 and the radio resources being used by the base station 210 within the network 200. For example, the information may include information related to cell access. For example, the cell access information may include information about downlink and uplink channels for respective downlink and uplink communications, carrier frequencies and bandwidths for downlink and uplink channels used by the base station 210, uplink and downlink power control and sounding reference signal configurations, random access channel information, among other information. For example, in LTE networks, the information may be included in master-information block (MIB) transmissions and system-information block (SIB) transmissions.

After the synchronization process and either during or after the information broadcast about the network 200 is provided to the MTC devices 220, the MTC devices 220 may transmit one or more communications to the base station 210 with information about the MTC devices 220. Based on the information from the MTC devices 220, the base station 210 may determine that the MTC devices 220 are MTC devices and not human operated devices.

After the base station 210 determines that the MTC devices 220 are part of the network 200, the base station 210 may allocate a set of downlink resources in the downlink channel for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station 210 to the MTC devices 220. The base stations 210 may also allocate a set of uplink resources in an uplink channel for future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices 220 to the base station 210.

In some embodiments, the base station 210 may allocate the sets of downlink and uplink resources when one or more MTC devices 220 are associated with the network 200. Alternately or additionally, the base station 210 may allocate the sets of downlink and uplink resources when a related downlink SNR and/or SINR processed by a number of MTC devices 220 associated with the network 200 is greater than a threshold. The threshold may be determined based on the configuration of the network 200, a number of human operated devices in the network 200, and a quality of service level provided by the network 200, among other factors.

In some embodiments, the base station 210 may allocate the sets of downlink and uplink resources for data communications between the base station 210 and MTC devices 220. Downlink data communications may include communications where data generated by another network is sent to the MTC devices 220. Uplink data communications may include communications where the MTC devices 220 send data to another network. In these and other embodiments, downlink and uplink control communications may be used by the base station 210 to coordinate the communications between the base station 210 and the MTC devices 220 in the network 200. In some embodiments, all or some of the downlink and uplink control communications concerning the MTC devices 220 may employ radio resources that are shared with downlink and uplink control communications for human operated devices. For example, the downlink control communications from the base station 210 to the MTC devices 220 may use the shared set of downlink resources that are used for the synchronization signals and other signals, such as physical broadcast channel signals (PBCH), transmitted by the base station 210.

Alternately or additionally, the base station 210 may allocate the sets of downlink and uplink resources for data and control communications between the base station 210 and the MTC devices 220. In some embodiments, the base station 210 may adjust whether the allocation of the first sets of downlink and uplink resources are for the data and the control communications based on the network traffic being experienced by the radio resources used for the control communications for the human operated devices. For example, when the radio resources that are used by the MTC devices for control communications are experiencing high network traffic, the base station 210 may indicate to the MTC devices 220 that the control communications between the base station 210 and the MTC devices 220 use the allocated first sets of downlink and uplink resources.

In some embodiments, after the synchronization process, it may be determined, by either the MTC devices 220 or the base station 210, whether the signal quality of the downlink communications to the MTC devices 220 are below a threshold. If the MTC devices 220 determine that the signal quality of the downlink communications to the MTC devices 220 are below a threshold, the MTC devices 220 may indicate such to the base station 210. The signal quality of the downlink communications to the MTC devices 220 may be determined using any known SNR or SINR calculation method or procedure. The signal quality of the downlink communications to the MTC devices 220 that are below a threshold may indicate that the MTC devices 220 are positioned in a coverage deficit location.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2, the first MTC device 220 a may be in a coverage deficit location and the second MTC device 220 b may be in a regular coverage location. The first MTC device 220 a may be in a coverage deficit location based on the degraded SNR and/or SINR associated with the first path 202 a between the first MTC device 220 a and the base station 210. Similarly, the second MTC device 220 b may be in a regular coverage location based on regular SNR and/or SINR associated with the second path 202 b between the second MTC device 220 b and the base station 210.

In some embodiments, the base station 210 may allocate separate sets of uplink and/or downlink resources for the MTC devices 220 that are in coverage deficit locations and for the MTC devices 220 that are in regular coverage locations. For example, in these and other embodiments, the first MTC device 220 a may use radio resources allocated in first sets of downlink and uplink resources and the second MTC device 220 b may use radio resources allocated in second sets of downlink and uplink resources that are different from the first sets of downlink and uplink resources.

In some embodiments, the base station 210 may allocate additional sets of uplink or downlink resources for MTC devices 220. These additional sets of uplink and downlink resources may be semi-statically or dynamically allocated. For example, when the network traffic in a first set of uplink resources allocated for the MTC devices 220 is such that the quality of service degrades below a threshold determined for the network 200, the base station 210 may allocate a second set of uplink resources for the MTC devices 220. In these and other embodiments, all of the MTC devices 220 may use the first and second sets of uplink resources or a portion of the MTC devices 220 may be assigned to the first set and another portion of the MTC devices 220 may be assigned to the second set. The base station 210 may de-allocate the second set of uplink resources after the quality of service rises above the threshold, after a duration of time, or based on some other metric.

The quality of service of the network 200 may be based on latency, e.g., delays, that devices in the network 200 experience when attempting to access the network 200. For example, when a device, such as the first MTC device 220 a, requests to transmit data and the base station 210 does not schedule the first MTC device 220 a for 150 milliseconds; the latency of the network 200 may be 150 milliseconds. A quality of service threshold may be based on a configuration of the network 200. For example, when the MTC devices 220 are designed to provide information to a gas company, the gas company may contract with the network provider for a quality of service, e.g., an ability for the MTC devices 220 to access the network 200, send a report, and a related MTC server to decode the report, within a set amount of time. The set amount of time for the MTC devices 220 to access the network 200 may be a threshold for quality of service with respect to the MTC devices. When the time for the MTC devices 220 to access the network 200 exceeds the set amount of time as agreed, the quality of service for the MTC devices 220 may be indicated to be degraded below a threshold.

Based on the allocation of radio resources for the MTC devices 220, when an MTC device 220 requests to access the network 200, by either requesting data from the network 200 or requesting to send data to the network 200, the base station 210 may schedule the MTC device 220 and assign the MTC device 220 radio resources from among the allocation of radio resources for MTC devices 220.

For example, when the first MTC device 220 a requests data from the network, the base station 210 may send an indication of downlink resources assigned to the first MTC device 220 a for the scheduled transmission. The assigned downlink resources may be part of the allocated downlink resources for the MTC devices 220. The first MTC device 220 a may then receive data downlink communications over the assigned downlink resources from the base station 210. In some embodiments, the control communications used by the first MTC device 220 a to request the data from the network 200 and used by the base station 210 to indicate the assigned downlink resources for the scheduled transmission may be part of the allocated downlink resources for the MTC devices 220

As another example, when the first MTC device 220 a requests to send data to the network 200, the base station 210 may send an indication of uplink resources assigned to the first MTC device 220 a for the scheduled transmission. The assigned uplink resources may be part of the allocated uplink resources for the MTC devices 220. The first MTC device 220 a may then transmit data uplink communications over the assigned uplink resources to the base station 210. In some embodiments, the control communications used by the first MTC device 220 a to request to send the data to the network 200 and used by the base station 210 to indicate the assigned uplink resources for the scheduled transmission may be part of the allocated uplink resources for the MTC devices 220. Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the network 200 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example time and frequency radio resource allocation, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. FIG. 3 illustrates a downlink resource channel 310 (referred to herein as the “DL channel 310”) and an uplink resource channel 330 (referred to herein as the “UL channel 330”). The DL channel 310 and the UL channel 330 may have similar bandwidths. The bandwidths of the DL channel 310 and the UL channel 330 may be 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, or 20 MHz, or some other amount of bandwidth. Each of the DL and UL channels 310 and 330 may be partitioned into smaller allocations of radio resources, such as resource blocks. For example, in an LTE network, a 20 MHz channel may be separated into 100 or more physical resource blocks.

In some embodiments, the DL channel 310 may include a central resource allocation 312. In some embodiments, the central resource allocation 312 may be defined across six resource blocks and may be located near the center of the DL channel 310. In a network that supports the DL channel 310, downlink control communications between a base station, human operated devices, and in some embodiments, MTC devices, may be assigned radio resources in the central resource allocation 312.

In some embodiments, one or more MTC device radio resource allocations may be defined across one or more sets of contiguous or non-contiguous resource blocks. For example, a first set of resource blocks 314 may include a contiguous set of resource blocks that may be defined for downlink communications from a base station to the MTC devices. A second set of resource blocks 316 may include a non-contiguous set of resource blocks that includes resource blocks 316 a, 316 b, and 316 c. In some embodiments, the sets of resource blocks may include multiples or whole integer sub-multiples of six resource blocks. In these and other embodiments, a whole integer sub-multiple may be an exact divisor of a value that is a whole integer. For example, 2 and/or 3 may be whole integer sub-multiples of six.

As an example, when transmitting downlink communications to MTC devices in a network using the DL channel 310, a base station may select radio resources from the first set of resource blocks 314 or the second set of resource blocks 316. When transmitting downlink communications to human operated devices, the base station may select radio resources from resource blocks not in the first and second sets of resource blocks 314 and 316.

As another example, in a network with MTC devices in coverage deficit locations and regular coverage locations, a base station may select radio resources from the first set of resource blocks 314 for transmitting data communications to the MTC devices in coverage deficit locations and select radio resources from the second set of resource blocks 316 for transmitting data communications to the MTC devices in regular coverage locations.

In some embodiments, the UL channel 330 may include a central resource allocation 332. In some embodiments, the central resource allocation 332 may be defined across six resource blocks and may be located near the center of the UL channel 330. In a network that supports the UL channel 330, uplink control communications between a base station, human operated devices, and in some embodiments, MTC devices, may be assigned radio resources in the central resource allocation 332.

In some embodiments, one or more MTC device radio resource allocations may be defined across one or more sets of contiguous or non-contiguous resource blocks. For example, a first and a third set of resource blocks 334 and 338 may each include a contiguous set of resource blocks that may be defined for uplink communications to a base station from the MTC devices. A second set of resource blocks 336 may include a non-contiguous set of resource blocks that includes resource blocks 336 a and 336 b. In some embodiments, the sets of resource blocks may include multiples or whole integer sub-multiples of six resource blocks.

As an example, a base station in a network may select radio resources for uplink communications from MTC devices to the base station from the first, second, or third sets of resource blocks 334, 336, and 338. The base station may select radio resources for uplink communications to the base station from human operated devices from resource blocks not in the first, second, or third sets of resource blocks 334, 336, and 338.

As another example, radio resources for uplink communications for MTC devices in coverage deficit locations may be selected from the first and second sets of resource blocks 334 and 338 and radio resources for uplink communications for MTC devices in regular coverage locations may be selected from the third set of resource blocks 336.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a flow chart of an example method 400 of allocating radio resources in a radio access system, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. The method 400 may be implemented, in some embodiments, within a radio access network, such as the networks 100 or 200 of FIGS. 1 and 2. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation.

The method 400 may begin at block 402, where one or more MTC devices within a network may be detected by a base station. The base station may be configured to detect the MTC devices based on information provided by the MTC devices. Block 402 may be followed by block 403.

In block 403, sets of radio resources may be allocated to the MTC devices. For example, one or more sets of uplink resources in an uplink channel may be allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices. Alternately or additionally, one or more sets of downlink resources in a downlink channel may be allocated for future assignment of downlink data communications to the MTC devices. Block 403 may be followed by block 404.

In block 404, it may be determined if one or more of the MTC devices is located in a coverage deficit location. When one or more of the MTC devices are not located in a coverage deficit location, the method 400 may proceed to block 407. When one or more of the MTC devices are located in a coverage deficit location, the method 400 may proceed to block 405.

In block 405, the MTC devices in the coverage deficit locations may be grouped together and referred to herein as CD_MTC devices. The MTC devices in the regular coverage locations may be grouped together and referred to herein as the RC_MTC devices. The method 400 may diverge for the CD_MTC devices and for the RC_MTC devices. For the RC_MTC devices, the method 400 may proceed to block 406. For the CD_MTC devices, the method 400 may proceed to block 416.

In block 406, the radio resources allocated to the MTC devices in block 404 may be associated with the RC_MTC devices. The block 406 may be followed by block 407. In block 407, network traffic for the RC_MTC devices may be measured. Block 407 may be followed by block 408.

In block 408, it may be determined if RC_MTC device network traffic is resulting in quality of service for the RC_MTC devices being less than a threshold. In these and other embodiments, the RC_MTC devices may be communicating with the base station using the radio resources allocated to the MTC devices in block 404. In some embodiments, it may be determined if the RC_MTC device downlink network traffic, uplink network traffic, or a combination thereof is resulting in a quality of service for the RC_MTC devices being less than the threshold. When the quality of service for the RC_MTC devices is less than the threshold, the method 400 may proceed to block 410. When the quality of service for the RC_MTC devices is equal to or greater than the threshold, the method 400 may proceed to block 407.

In block 410, additional radio resources may be allocated for the RC_MTC devices. For example, one or more additional sets of uplink resources in an uplink channel may be allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications for the RC_MTC devices. Alternately or additionally, one or more additional sets of downlink resources in a downlink channel may be allocated for future assignment of downlink data communications to the RC_MTC devices. The additional sets of radio resources may be used to support communications between the RC_MTC devices and the base station to bring the quality of service above the threshold. Block 410 may be followed by block 411.

In block 411, the network traffic for the RC_MTC devices may be measured again. Block 411 may be followed by block 412. In block 412, it may be determined if the RC_MTC device network traffic has decreased. When RC_MTC device network traffic has decreased, the method 400 may proceed to block 414. When RC_MTC device network traffic has not decreased, the method 400 may return to block 411.

In block 414, the additional radio resources for the RC_MTC devices allocated in block 410 may be de-allocated. Block 414 may be followed by block 407. In block 416, radio resources may be allocated to the CD_MTC devices. For example, one or more sets of uplink resources in an uplink channel may be allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications from the CD_MTC devices. Alternately or additionally, one or more sets of downlink resources in a downlink channel may be allocated for future assignment of downlink data communications to the CD_MTC devices. In these and other embodiments, the CD_MTC devices may be communicating with the base station using the radio resources allocated in block 416. Block 416 may be followed by block 417.

In block 417, network traffic for the CD_MTC devices may be measured. Block 417 may be followed by block 418. In block 418, it may be determined if CD_MTC device network traffic is resulting in quality of service for the CD_MTC devices being less than a threshold. In some embodiments, it may be determined if the CD_MTC device downlink network traffic, uplink network traffic, or a combination thereof is resulting in a quality of service for the CD_MTC devices being less than the threshold. When the quality of service for the CD_MTC devices is less than the threshold, the method 400 may proceed to block 420. When the quality of service for the CD_MTC devices is equal to or greater than the threshold, the method 400 may proceed to block 417.

In block 420, additional radio resources may be allocated for the CD_MTC devices. For example, one or more additional sets of uplink resources in an uplink channel may be allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications from the CD_MTC devices. Alternately or additionally, one or more additional sets of downlink resources in a downlink channel may be allocated for future assignment of downlink data communications to the CD_MTC devices. The additional sets of radio resources may be used to support communications between the CD_MTC devices and the base station to bring the quality of service above the threshold. Block 420 may be followed by block 421.

In block 421, the network traffic for the RC_MTC devices may be measured again. Block 421 may be followed by block 422. In block 422, it may be determined if the CD_MTC device network traffic has decreased. When CD_MTC device network traffic has decreased, the method 400 may proceed to block 424. When CD_MTC device network traffic has not decreased, the method 400 may return to block 421. In block 424, the additional radio resources for the CD_MTC devices allocated in block 420 may be de-allocated. Block 424 may be followed by block 417.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that, for this and other processes and methods disclosed herein, the functions performed in the processes and methods may be implemented in differing order. Furthermore, the outlined acts and operations are only provided as examples, and some of the acts and operations may be optional, combined into fewer acts and operations, or expanded into additional acts and operations without detracting from the essence of the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 5 is flow chart of another example method 500 of allocating radio resources in a radio access system, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. The method 500 may be implemented, in some embodiments, within a radio access network, such as the networks 100 or 200 of FIGS. 1 and 2. For instance, the processor system 214 of the base station 210 of FIG. 2 may be configured to execute computer instructions to allocate radio resources as represented by one or more of blocks 502, 504, 506, and/or 508 of the method 500. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation.

The method 500 may begin at block 502, where a communication from each of multiple machine-type communication (MTC) devices in a radio access network may be received at a base station. The radio access network and the base station may be configured to support the MTC devices and human operated devices. Block 502 may be followed by block 504.

In block 504, it may be determined that the communications are received from the MTC devices. In some embodiments, determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices may include determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices that are receiving downlink communications from the base station with a signal quality below a threshold. Block 504 may be followed by block 506.

In block 506, a first set of downlink resources in a downlink channel may be allocated for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the MTC devices. In some embodiments, the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel includes multiple or whole integer sub-multiples of six resource blocks in the downlink channel. In these and other embodiments, the resource blocks in the downlink channel may be contiguous or non-contiguous.

In some embodiments, the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel may be allocated for only future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the MTC devices. In some embodiments, the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel may not be allocated for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the human operated devices. Block 506 may be followed by block 508.

In block 508, a first set of uplink resources in an uplink channel may be allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station. In some embodiments, the first set of uplink resources in the uplink channel includes multiple or whole integer sub-multiples of six resource blocks in the uplink channel. In these and other embodiments, the resource blocks in the uplink channel may be contiguous or non-contiguous.

In some embodiments, the first set of uplink resources in the uplink channel may be allocated for only future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station. In some embodiments, the first set of uplink resources in the uplink channel may not be allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications from the human operated devices to the base station.

The outlined acts and operations of FIG. 5 are only provided as examples, and some of the acts and operations may be optional, combined into fewer acts and operations, or expanded into additional acts and operations without detracting from the essence of the disclosed embodiments.

For example, the method 500 may further include detecting an increase in uplink data traffic from the MTC devices to the base station and in response to detecting an increase, allocating semi-statically or dynamically a second set of uplink resources in the uplink channel for future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station. In these and other embodiments, the future uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station may be transmitted using the first and second sets of uplink resources.

As another example, the act of determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices may further include grouping the MTC devices that receive downlink communications with a signal quality at or above the threshold into a first group of MTC devices. The act may further include grouping the MTC devices that receive downlink communications with a signal quality below the threshold into a second group of MTC devices. The act may further include allocating a second set of uplink resources in the uplink channel for future assignment of uplink data communications from the second group of MTC devices to the base station. In these and other embodiments, the first set of uplink resources may be allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications from the first group of MTC devices to the base station.

In these and other embodiments, the method 500 may further include allocating semi-statically or dynamically a second set of downlink resources in the downlink channel for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the second group of MTC devices. In these and other embodiments, the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel may be for future assignment of the downlink data communications from the base station to the first group of MTC devices.

In some embodiments, the second set of uplink resources in the uplink channel may be for future assignment of uplink data communications and uplink control communications from the second group of MTC devices to the base station. In these and other embodiments, uplink control communications from the first group of MTC devices to the base station may not be assigned to the first or second set of uplink resources.

FIG. 6 is flow chart of an example method 600 of using radio resources in a radio access network, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. The method 600 may be implemented, in some embodiments, within a radio access network, such as the networks 100 or 200 of FIGS. 1 and 2. For instance, the processor system 224 of the first MTC device 220 a and/or the second MTC device 220 b of FIG. 2 may be configured to execute computer instructions to allocate radio resources as represented by one or more of blocks 602, 604, and/or 606 of the method 600. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation.

The method 600 may begin at block 602, where an MTC device in a wireless access network may be synchronized with a base station based on one or more synchronization signals received from the base station. In these and other embodiments, the one or more synchronization signals may be transmitted using radio resources within a first set of control resources in a downlink channel. Alternately or additionally, the base station may be configured to support the MTC device and a human operated device. Block 602 may be followed by block 604.

In block 604, an indication of assigned downlink resources in the downlink channel for downlink communication with the base station may be received. In these and other embodiments, the assigned downlink resources may be included in a first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel allocated for downlink communication from the base station to the MTC device and one or more other MTC devices. Block 604 may be followed by block 606.

In block 606, an indication of assigned uplink resources in an uplink channel for uplink communication with the base station may be received. In these and other embodiments, the assigned uplink resources may be included in a first set of uplink resources in the uplink channel allocated for uplink communication from the MTC device and one or more other MTC devices to the base station.

The outlined acts and operations of FIG. 6 are only provided as examples, and some of the acts and operations may be optional, combined into fewer acts and operations, or expanded into additional acts and operations without detracting from the essence of the disclosed embodiments.

For example, the method 600 may further include receiving data and control downlink communications over the assigned downlink resources from the base station. In these and other embodiments, the assigned downlink resources may be separate from the first set of control resources in the downlink channel.

The method 600 may further include transmitting first data and control uplink communications over the assigned uplink resources from the MTC device to the base station. In these and other embodiments, other data and control uplink communications from human operated devices may be assigned other uplink resources in the uplink channel that are separate from the first set of uplink resources.

The method 600 may further include after transmitting the first data and control uplink communications over the first assigned uplink resources, receiving an indication of second assigned uplink resources in the uplink channel for uplink communication with the base station. In these and other embodiments, the second assigned uplink resources may be included in a second set of uplink resources in the uplink channel allocated for uplink communication from the MTC device and one or more other MTC devices to the base station. The method 600 may further include transmitting second data and control uplink communications over the second assigned uplink resources to the base station.

The method 600 may further include after transmitting second data and control uplink communications over the second assigned uplink resources to the base station, receiving an indication of third assigned uplink resources in the uplink channel for uplink communication with the base station. In these and other embodiments, the third assigned uplink resources may be included in the first set of uplink resources. The method 600 may further include transmitting third data and control uplink communications over the third assigned uplink resources to the base station.

The embodiments described herein may include the use of a special-purpose or general-purpose computer including various computer hardware or software modules, as discussed in greater detail below.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented using computer-readable media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such computer-readable media may be any available media that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include non-transitory computer-readable storage media including Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory devices (e.g., solid state memory devices), or any other storage medium which may be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and which may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. Combinations of the above may also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

Computer-executable instructions may include, for example, instructions and data which cause a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or special-purpose processing device (e.g., one or more processors) to perform a certain function or group of functions. Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

As used herein, the terms “module” or “component” may refer to specific hardware implementations configured to perform the operations of the module or component and/or software objects or software routines that may be stored on and/or executed by general-purpose hardware (e.g., computer-readable media, processing devices, etc.) of the computing system. In some embodiments, the different components, modules, engines, and services described herein may be implemented as objects or processes that execute on the computing system (e.g., as separate threads). While some of the system and methods described herein are generally described as being implemented in software (stored on and/or executed by general-purpose hardware), specific hardware implementations or a combination of software and specific hardware implementations are also possible and contemplated. In this description, a “computing entity” may be any computing system as previously defined herein, or any module or combination of modulates running on a computing system.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical objects to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Although embodiments of the present inventions have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving a communication from each of a plurality of machine-type communication (MTC) devices in a radio access network at a base station, the radio access network and base station configured to support the MTC devices and human operated devices; determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices; allocating a first set of downlink resources in a downlink channel for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the MTC devices; and allocating a first set of uplink resources in an uplink channel for future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel includes contiguous multiple or whole integer sub-multiples of six resource blocks in the downlink channel or non-contiguous multiple or whole integer sub-multiples of six resource blocks in the downlink channel and the first set of uplink resources in the uplink channel includes contiguous multiple or whole integer sub-multiples of six resource blocks in the downlink channel or non-contiguous multiple or whole integer sub-multiples of six resource blocks in the uplink channel.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel are allocated for only future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the MTC devices and the first set of uplink resources in the uplink channel are allocated for only future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel are not allocated for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the human operated devices and the first set of uplink resources in the uplink channel are not allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications from the human operated devices to the base station.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting an increase in uplink data traffic from the MTC devices to the base station; and allocating semi-statically or dynamically a second set of uplink resources in the uplink channel for future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station such that future uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station are transmitted using the first and second sets of uplink resources.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices further comprises: grouping the MTC devices that receive downlink communications with a signal quality at or above the threshold into a first group of MTC devices; grouping the MTC devices that receive downlink communications with a signal quality below the threshold into a second group of MTC devices; and allocating a second set of uplink resources in the uplink channel for future assignment of uplink data communications from the second group of MTC devices to the base station, wherein the first set of uplink resources is allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications from the first group of MTC devices to the base station.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second set of uplink resources in the uplink channel is for future assignment of uplink data communications and uplink control communications from the second group of MTC devices to the base station and wherein uplink control communications from the first group of MTC devices to the base station are not assigned to the first or second set of uplink resources.
 8. The method of claim 6, further comprising allocating semi-statically or dynamically a second set of downlink resources in the downlink channel for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the second group of MTC devices, wherein the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel is for future assignment of the downlink data communications from the base station to the first group of MTC devices.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices includes determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices that are receiving downlink communications from the base station with a signal quality below a threshold.
 10. A machine-type communication (MTC) device including a computer-readable medium having encoded therein programming code executable by a processor to perform operations comprising: synchronizing with a base station in a wireless access network based on one or more synchronization signals received from the base station, wherein the one or more synchronization signals are transmitted using radio resources within a first set of control radio resources in a downlink channel and the base station is configured to support the MTC device and a human operated device; receiving an indication of assigned downlink resources in the downlink channel for downlink communication with the base station, wherein the assigned downlink resources are included in a first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel allocated for downlink communication from the base station to the MTC device and one or more other MTC devices; and receiving an indication of assigned uplink resources in an uplink channel for uplink communication with the base station, wherein the assigned uplink resources are included in a first set of uplink resources in the uplink channel allocated for uplink communication from the MTC device and one or more other MTC devices to the base station.
 11. The MTC device of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise receiving data and control downlink communications over the assigned downlink resources from the base station, wherein the assigned downlink resources are separate from the first set of control radio resources in the downlink channel.
 12. The MTC device of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting first data and control uplink communications over the assigned uplink resources from the MTC device to the base station, wherein other data and control uplink communications from human operated devices are assigned other uplink resources in the uplink channel that are separate from the first set of uplink resources.
 13. The MTC device of claim 12, wherein the assigned uplink resources are first assigned uplink resources, wherein the operations further comprise: after transmitting the first data and control uplink communications over the first assigned uplink resources, receiving an indication of second assigned uplink resources in the uplink channel for uplink communication with the base station, wherein the second assigned uplink resources are included in a second set of uplink resources in the uplink channel allocated for uplink communication from the MTC device and one or more other MTC devices to the base station; and transmitting second data uplink communications over the second assigned uplink resources to the base station.
 14. The MTC device of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise: after transmitting second data communications over the second assigned uplink resources to the base station, receiving an indication of third assigned uplink resources in the uplink channel for uplink communication with the base station, wherein the third assigned uplink resources are included in the first set of uplink resources; and transmitting third data uplink communications over the third assigned uplink resources to the base station.
 15. A base station including a computer-readable medium having encoded therein programming code executable by a processor to perform operations comprising: receiving a communication from each of a plurality of machine-type communication (MTC) devices in a radio access network at the base station, the radio access network and base station configured to support the MTC devices and human operated devices; determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices; allocating a first set of downlink resources in a downlink channel for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the MTC devices; and allocating a first set of uplink resources in an uplink channel for future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station.
 16. The base station of claim 15, wherein the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel are not allocated for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the human operated devices and the first set of uplink resources in the uplink channel are not allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications from the human operated devices to the base station.
 17. The base station of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: detecting an increase in uplink data traffic from the MTC devices to the base station; and allocating semi-statically or dynamically a second set of uplink resources in the uplink channel for future assignment of uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station such that future uplink data communications from the MTC devices to the base station are transmitted using the first and second sets of uplink resources.
 18. The base station of claim 15, wherein determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices further includes operations comprising: determining which of the MTC devices are receiving downlink communications with a signal quality below a threshold and which of the MTC devices are receiving downlink communications with a signal quality at or above the threshold; grouping the MTC devices that receive downlink communications with a signal quality at or above the threshold into a first group of MTC devices; grouping the MTC devices that receive downlink communications with a signal quality below the threshold into a second group of MTC devices; and allocating a second set of uplink resources in the uplink channel for future assignment of uplink data communications from the second group of MTC devices to the base station, wherein the first set of uplink resources is allocated for future assignment of uplink data communications from the first group of MTC devices to the base station.
 19. The base station of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise allocating a second set of downlink resources in the downlink channel for future assignment of downlink data communications from the base station to the second group of MTC devices, wherein the first set of downlink resources in the downlink channel is for future assignment of the downlink data communications from the base station to the first group of MTC devices.
 20. The base station of claim 15, wherein determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices further includes operations comprising determining that the communications are received from the MTC devices that are receiving downlink communications from the base station with a signal quality below a threshold. 